The Medieval Reading Group will meet at 5.30PM on Wednesday, 25 February in the English Faculty, GR-05, to hear Blake Gutt talk about ‘Merlin, Margins and Marginalia in BnF français 95’. The session will be followed by drinks. All are very welcome.

This paper examines the liminal figure of Merlin in the Vulgate Merlin and the Vulgate Suite alongside a discussion of the marginal illustrations of a 13th century manuscript, Bibliothèque nationale de France, français 95. Merlin is an intriguing and morally dubious character; he is intrinsic to the Arthurian universe, yet nonetheless inhabits its margins. The paper interrogates the interplay between this diegetic liminality and the visual liminality of BnF Fr. 95’s marginal illustrations, investigating the complex and often oblique interactions of these images with the text, within whose territory they vie for attention.

On Wednesday 18 Febuary, Katie Walter (Sussex) talked about ‘Reginald Pecock’s Images’ at the Medieval Graduate Seminar. Her reading of Reginald Pecock’s writings revealed how the author responded to Lollard attacks on the use of images in particularly innovative ways, casting light on Pecock’s discussion of the power of images with reference to contemporary discussions on sight, memory and the sense of touching. Her fascinating presentation received keen response from the audience.

Today Katie Walter (Sussex) will speak on ‘Reginald Pecock’s Images’.

As always,  we will be in the Board Room from about 4.45 p.m., please
bring along a mug of tea, meet the speakers and catch up with
fellow medievalists. Biscuits will be provided (despite the first day of
Lent). The talk will start at 5.15, followed by drinks and questions.

After the paper you are very welcome to join the speaker for dinner in a
nearby restaurant, the Rice Boat. For any enquiries beforehand,
please contact the convenor, Orietta Da Rold (od245).

The Sandars Readership in Bibliography was instituted in 1895 with a bequest of £2000 left to the University by Mr Samuel Sandars (above) of Trinity College (1837-1894), and continues today in the annual series of Sandars Lectures.

Richard Beadle, Professor of Medieval English Literature and Palaeography, will be giving the Sandars Lectures this year on Henry Bradshaw and the Foundations of Codicology: 

25 February: ‘A shot at Henry Bradshaw: the bibliographer as sleuth’

4 March: ‘Bradshaw’s Methods’

11 March: ‘Bradshaw’s guides: close encounters with manuscripts

Lectures take place in the Milstein Seminar Rooms at Cambridge University Library, beginning at 5pm.

For further details, please visit http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/sandars/sandars_2015.html

Charles Samuelson, of Princeton University, will be giving his paper entitled, ‘After the Lyric: Queering Temporality and Repetition in 13th-century Verse Romances and Dits’ at the Medieval French Seminar. The seminar will start at 5pm (for 5.15), and will take place in the Rushmore Room, St Catharine’s. Wine, water and apple juice will be served.

As usual, we’ll be taking our speaker to dinner afterwards. Anyone attending the seminar will be most welcome to accompany us.

‘Like’ the seminar on facebook for yet more updates.

The Medieval Reading Group will meet at 5.15 on Wednesday 11 February in the English Faculty, GR-05, to hear Dr Mickey Engle (Philosophy, Cambridge) talk about ‘The Influence of Averroes: Ideas on Latin and Jewish Scholars During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance’. The session will be followed by wine and cheese straw. All are very welcome.

On Wednesday 4 Febuary, Jorie Woods (Texas at Austin) talked bout ‘Classical Emotions in the Medieval Classroom’ to Cambridge researchers at the Medieval Graduate Seminar. The paper she presented is a chapter of her upcoming book (lecture collections). Her observations on the interlinear and marginal glossaries in some medieval Latin ‘textbooks’ were followed by insightful interpretations of how medieval teachers cultivated emotions and encouraged responses involving empathy to classical works.